McGuinness' comeback: The arrival at his door, the letter and the reward

It was for Donegal. That was a theme throughout.

'EMOTIONAL PULL': Donegal’s manager Jim McGuinness and Patrick McBrearty celebrate after the penalty shoot-out. Pic: James Crombie, Inpho

Where do you start? Let’s look back at last year. Relegation from Division 1. Dumped out of Ulster by Down in a quarter-final. An eight-point defeat against rivals Tyrone to end the season. Donegal knew what they needed. They went after it.

“They arrived at the door the day after they got beat by Tyrone and they never really stopped after that,” said Jim McGuinness, shortly after he steered them to their first Ulster title since 2019 with a penalty shootout triumph over Armagh.